Learn About - Whitening Teeth

Tooth Bleaching Before Dental Crowns from Your Dentist

If you require crowns to be placed, it is a good idea to evaluate how you feel about the color of your existing teeth before beginning the process. If you like the color of your teeth, the dentist will then match the crowns to that color. On the other hand, if you feel you would like to whiten or lighten your teeth, it is a good idea to communicate this to your dentist beforehand about tooth whitening. Once the final restorations are made, it will not be possible to change their color without redoing them.

At-Home Teeth Bleaching

If you desire whiter teeth before the crowns are placed, the best way to achieve this is to talk to your dentist about at-home teeth whitening. With this procedure, custom-fitted plastic trays will be made for your teeth and you will be given some small tubes of dental bleaching material. Your dentist will show you how to place a small amount of bleaching material in the tray and then place the tray in your mouth. The tray is then worn for one to two hours in the evening, depending on the type of material. The biggest advantage of this method of teeth whitening compared to procedures that are done in your dentist's office is, that you are the one who can control how white your teeth will be. Since you are the one in control, you can stop bleaching whenever you feel you have achieved the desired color. The typical bleaching time is one and one-half to two weeks, but it may be longer.

Sensitivity to Tooth Bleaching

Your teeth may become sensitive to cold air or liquids during the tooth bleaching process. This is normal and will subside and finally go away when you stop bleaching. There are a couple of things you can do to decrease this sensitivity if it arises during the tooth whitening process. One is to only bleach every other night. The other is to have your dentist prescribe for you a fluoride gel that you can place in your custom bleach trays every other evening. The fluoride acts to decrease the sensitivity by coating or sealing the tooth surface. It will not affect the color of your teeth. This is the most reliable way to decrease sensitivity while you bleach. Once you get your teeth to the desired color, your dentist will have you wait about three to four weeks before taking a color match of your new white teeth in order to make the final restoration. During this time, the color of your teeth will be stabilizing.

Once the Restorations Are Placed, What Can You Expect?

Teeth bleaching is a very predictable method for getting white teeth, but the results will not last forever. Since the restorations were placed when your teeth were at their whitest, you will most likely find that in one and a half to two years, the restorations may begin to appear lighter than your natural teeth. This result is to be expected. It is not caused by a change in color of the restorations, but rather by your own teeth getting darker. At this point, all that is required is to, once again, bleach your natural teeth until the color is evened out. Usually, this only requires bleaching a couple of times. After the color is evened out, you can then expect to have the color stability last for another one and a half to two years.

By Greggory Kinzer, DDS, MSD

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.

Best Teeth Whitening Methods for the Most Dramatic Results

Teeth whiteners are available everywhere these days: at the grocery store, the drug store, the beauty counter, even at mall kiosks. But if you want really white teeth, you need to know that not all teeth whitening products are the same.

Whitening toothpaste will brighten your smile a little bit. Whitening strips might lighten your teeth a little bit more. But they will never whiten teeth as quickly and effectively as professional teeth whitening.

The best teeth whitening products are only available to licensed dentists. Since it's possible to over-bleach teeth or irritate gums, only professionals can legally use the strongest tooth whiteners that contain relatively high levels of hydrogen peroxide. This sort of teeth whitener can whiten teeth by several shades in just one appointment.

Laser teeth whitening goes even one step further. In this method, laser light speeds the teeth bleaching process. The Zoom Chairside Whitening System is an example of this sort of instant whitening, but there are other systems that use lasers to activate the tooth bleaching agent.

If you have very badly stained teeth, it might take multiple tooth whitening sessions to give you your whitest smile. While most tooth whitening can lighten yellow teeth that have been stained by coffee, tea, or smoking, some stains are harder to remove. For example, some medications can cause stains deep within teeth that even the best teeth whitener cannot remove. Patients with intrinsic stains like that may opt for teeth veneers instead, since dental veneers let you make your teeth as white as you want.

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.